Ill Met By Moonlight
by nachonaco
Summary: There was every reason to fear the night, every reason to fear her demons, every reason to hate her life. But there was one reason she should stay. *I own nothing except my OC, Patch-it Patty!* *Rated T for mentions of suicide*


This time, he was alive.

Tamora's bare feet pattered the cold tile floor of Game Central Station, the area largely dark and uninhabited, save for the red glowing LEDs designating each game's location. Protectively embracing herself and bringing a shaking hand to her mouth to cover a sob, she made her way around Game Central Station a total of five times, each honoring the times she could remember Brad Scott calling her his dynamite gal.

The final time she remembered, damn her backstory, ended in her picking glass out of his bloody hair, the cybug plasma she had shot out of him matting it and making it more difficult for her to extricate the pieces.

She buckled against the wall between Tapper's and some new pet shop game Litwak had plugged in, her nails digging in her flesh as she tried not to scream out.

She'd relived the nightmare, but this time, he was alive.

He was in Sugar Rush, battling with the virus monarch against Ralph.

And she couldn't pull the trigger.

What Felix didn't know was that she'd had this particular iteration of her nightmares for the past three nights, and had been up for seventy-two hours. She'd spent her time hiding from her family, hiding from her men. Barricading herself in her office, Tapper's finest and a shotgun.

She was a Fix-it now, and there was a fifty-fifty chance she wouldn't respawn, even in her own game, if the rumors were true. And Kohut was more than capable of leading.

She looked at the photograph on her desk of her, Fix-it, and their daughter, Patch-it Patty. The girl had her father's bright blue eyes and smiling face, a pink cap with 'P2' written on it in the same style as her father's 'Ff' hat atop her blonde head. She wore a purple shortsleeve shirt with pink overalls and white tennis shoes.

She couldn't leave the kid behind.

* * *

"Where's Mommy?" was the first thing Tamora heard as she finally entered Fix-it Felix, Jr. again. She was talking to her father, and the protagonist was doing his best to calm his young daughter's nerves. Though Patch had only existed for two weeks, she resembled a six-year-old.

"Hi, sweetie," Tamora said as she picked up her 8-bit daughter, who giggled and hugged her.

"Mommy, where'd you go?"

She exhaled deeply, looking to her husband.

"Sweetie…there's something Mommy has to tell you." She held her daughter close, precious cargo that she was, and left the game. Patch yawned and snuggled into her mother's dark green robe. Tamora looked down at her daughter as the sickly green light shone on her face.

"I didn't want this to be your first time out of your game, kiddo," she said softly.

Ideally, the girl was to go to Sugar Rush, for the game's anniversary of Vanellope being president. But she couldn't hold off an explanation anymore.

"What, Mommy?"

They boarded the elevator and went to the ninety-ninth floor, where she'd personally erected a monument to Brad Scott.

Tamora didn't say anything, but broke down into a sob.

"Mommy?"

"I was supposed to be over it," she whispered. "I was…supposed to forget." She sighed and sobbed.

"Mommy, why's your cruiser sticking out of the ground?" Patch asked, indicating the hoverboard she couldn't bring herself to look at.

She remembered inscribing the damn thing, her laser shaky as her comrades sent the scientist off with the highest honor of a twenty-one-gun salute as she dedicated his cruiser in his memory.

"It's not mine," she answered. "It belonged to Brad Scott. Before I met your father…he….he was the one."

"The one?"

"You know how you watch those movies on YouTube, and Ariel was with Eric, Anna was with Kristoff…?" she trailed off.

"He was your Prince Charming?"

"Yes, sweetheart."

"What happened to him?"

This was the question she begged not to be asked. "He died, sweetheart. And I miss him every day."

"But don't you love Daddy?"

"I do, with all my heart. If I didn't, I wouldn't have you." A faint smile played on her face as she touched her daughter's button nose. "Silly."

"Does Daddy know about him?"

"Yes."

"Is he why you sneak out at night?"

So she knew.

"Yes, sweetheart. And I'm so, so sorry." She held her daughter close, sobbing.

At the same time, she felt relief wash over her, refreshing like the fountain in Game Central Station that she sat at with Felix on their first date.

She doubted any more graveside visits would be needed.


End file.
